“Any campaign that associates itself with that type of comment is beneath the office of the president of the United States,” said Christie, a blunt-talking tea party favorite who had been urged by top Republicans to run himself but ruled it out last week.

On Friday, the Rev. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, introduced Perry at a Washington gathering, and he told reporters afterward that he believes Romney is not a Christian and that Mormonism is a cult.

“These types of religious matters have nothing to do with the quality of somebody’s ability to lead,” Christie said.

Romney, directly addressing the Jeffress remarks for the first time, noted that Perry had agreed to let Jeffress introduce him at the summit.

“I would call on Governor Perry to repudiate the sentiment and the remarks made by that pastor,” Romney said. “I just don’t believe that that type of divisiveness based upon religion has a place in this country.”

Romney gave the impression Tuesday that Perry witnessed the “cult” comment, but he did not. Perry spokesman Mark Miner called the Romney statement a distraction, arguing that Perry had sufficiently addressed it.

“The governor is not going to agree with every single person who endorses him or that he meets on the campaign trail, and he doesn’t agree with him on this issue,” Miner said. “He has said that Mormonism is not a cult.”

Christie gave a forceful defense of Romney on health care. Perry and others have attacked the health care law he enacted as Massachusetts’ governor as a precursor to President Barack Obama’s national plan, seizing on an NBC News report Tuesday that former Romney advisers also discussed the issue with the president.

Any such comparison, Christie said, “is completely intellectually dishonest.” The Romney plan didn’t include a tax hike, he said, and it wasn’t imposed on all states.

In backing Romney, Christie cited his experience in business and government. He later told Romney supporters on a conference call that his endorsement was nothing against Perry but that he believes Romney is best positioned to beat Obama.

“I know Rick Perry, and I like him as a person,” Christie said. “But the fact is governing is about choosing, and political campaigns are about choosing.”

In his appearance with Romney, Christie took one apparent swipe at Perry, saying that Romney is “not someone who just decided to run for president off the back of an envelope, who just wandered into it and said, ‘Hey, this seems like a good idea, let’s see how it goes.’”

Christie said on the conference call that he would join Romney on the campaign trail.

“I have a Democratic Legislature in New Jersey, so we need adult supervision in the statehouse frequently,” he said. “But if Governor Romney needs me to be out there, I’m going to try and be out there as much as I can for him.”